Thursday, March 24, 2016

Friday, March 25th Plant Identification Class

Friday's Families:

Ranunculaceae -the Buttercup family
Cactaceae -the Cactus family
Araceae –the Aroid family
Ranunculaceae -the Buttercup family
Papaveraceae -the Poppy family
Myrtaceae  –the Myrtle family
Poaceae   -the Grass family
Polygonaceae  -the Polygonum family
Rosaceae -the Rose family
Solanaceae  -the Tomato family
Plantaginceae -the Plantain family

Maps to Plants For this Friday's Class:

A. This map shows locations of members of the following plant families here at the Arboretum:

Cactaceae -the Cactus family
Araceae –the Aroid family
Ranunculaceae -the Buttercup family
Papaveraceae -the Poppy family
Poaceae   -the Grass family
Polygonaceae  -the Polygonum family
Solanaceae  -the Tomato family
Plantaginceae -the Plantain family

B. This Map Shows Locations of Plants Here in the Myrtle Family

C. This Map Shows Locations of Plants Here in the Rose Family 

Friday, March 18, 2016

March 18th Plant ID Class

Map of Plants Belonging to the Families Being Studied Today




Families we'll be studying today: 

Gingkoaceae  –The Gingko family
Magnoliaceae -The Magnolia family
Ranunculaceae -the Buttercup family
Cactaceae -the Cactus family
Malvaceae  –the Hibiscus family
Myrtaceae  –the Myrtle family
Rutaceae –the Citrus family
Asteraceae –the Sunflower family
Araceae –the Aroid family
Aracaceae –the Palm family

Find these in the "50 Major Plant Families" booklet by Lena Strewe of Rutgers. 

Friday, March 11, 2016

March 11th Class Outline

   

Hour 1: Review

Vascular Plants vs. Non-vascular Plants
7.      Seeds vs. Spores
8.      Angiosperms vs. Gymnosperms
9.      Monocots vs. Dicots
10.  Plant parts Other Than Flowers
a.      Leaves
                                                              i.      Arrangement
                                                            ii.      Attachment
                                                          iii.      Venation
                                                           iv.      Stipules
                                                             v.      Texture
                             vi.    Margin

b.      Forms
                                                              i.      Rosettes
                                                            ii.      Forbes and perennials
                                                          iii.      Upright, Scandent, Relaxed etc.
                                                           iv.      Spikes
                                                             v.      Arborescent
                                                           vi.      Vines and Lianas
                                                         vii.      Other
c.       Roots
                                                              i.      Corms, Tubers, Bulbs, Crowns, Rhizomes etc.
d.      Stems
                                                              i.      Woody
                                                            ii.      Herbaceous
                                                          iii.      Round vs. Square and Trigonal.
e.      Other important parts
                                                              i.      Pachycaul (Caudex)
                                                            ii.      Seeds
1.      Arils
                                                         iii.      Fruit
                            iv.    Bark
11.  Flowers
a.      Plant sexuality terms:
                                                              i.      Monecious, Dioecious, Unisexual, Bisexual.
b.      Petals, Sepals and Tepals
c.       Calyx and Corrola
d.      Androecium, Gynoecium, Pistels, Carpels,
e.      Placentation
f.        Nectary Disk
g.      Apocarpus vs. Syncarpus
h.      Epigenous, Hypogenous, Perigynous (Hypanthium) Superior, Inferior.
i.        Symmetry
                                                              i.      Actinomorphic
                                                            ii.      Zygomorphic
j.        Inflorescence Shapes

Hour 2: Review and continuation of Order Lamiales

The following families  are now in the order Lamiales:


o    Family  Bignoniaceae

Family Plantaginaceae

o    Family Acanthaceae 

o    Family Scrophulariaceae

o    Family Lamiaceae

Family  Verbanaceae


Hour 3: New Families (as time permits)


Useful Links:

Plant Identification



Verbatim Name Usage Data (enter species name)
About Acanthaceae
Microsoft PowerPoint - Acanthaceae [Read-Only] [Compatibility Mode]
Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center - The University of Texas at Austin
Angiosperm families - Bignoniaceae Juss.
Plant Structures: Flowers
Plant Structures: Cells, Tissues and Structures
Taxonomic Classification
Plant Structures: Cells, Tissues and Structures
Special Types of Inflorescence | Tutorvista.com
EUPHORBIA PBI
Justicia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tropicos | Name - Justicia corumbensis (Lindau) Wassh. & C. Ezcurra
Justicia Notes
IPNI Plant Name Details
The International Plant Names Index: Epithet updates made since January 2010
Justicia leonardii Wassh. — The Plant List
Lavandula - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lavandula dentata - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Plant List
Search results — The Plant List
Lavandula dentata L. — The Plant List
Wikispecies Taxon Browser
Lamiales - Wikispecies
Euasterids I - Wikispecies
Lamiaceae - Wikispecies
Lavandula - Wikispecies
Lavandula dentata - Wikispecies
Bignoneaceae University of Hawaii Page
Bignoneaceae Delta Intkey Page
Don Hodel's article on Handroanthus



    Thursday, March 3, 2016

    Class #1 Syllabus: Plant Identification in Three Easy Hours

    1.      2.      Hour 1
    3.      Why ID?
    a.      Common name problems
                                                                  i.      Common ground problems
                                                                ii.      Language differences
                                                              iii.      Archaic meanings
    b.      Cultural information
                                                                  i.      Scientific name, range, elevation etc.
    4.      WHY to ID
    a.      Decide why you need to ID
                                                                  i.      Ornamental horticulture
                                                                ii.      Edible plants
                                                              iii.      Ethnobotany
    1.      Medicine
    2.      Ritual
    3.      Other
    b.      Decide ‘what you need to ID’
                                                                  i.      What families are most common for your needs
                                                                ii.      Region specific plants
                                                              iii.      Ornamental? Native?
    c.       A short history of nomenclature
                                                                  i.      Romans
                                                                ii.      Herbalists
                                                              iii.      Early botanists
                                                               iv.      Linnaeus: Father of the binomial.
    d.       

    5.      Hour 2
    6.      Vascular Plants vs. Non-vascular Plants
    7.      Seeds vs. Spores
    8.      Angiosperms vs. Gymnosperms
    9.      Monocots vs. Dicots
    10.  Plant parts Other Than Flowers
    a.      Leaves
                                                                  i.      Arrangement
                                                                ii.      Attachment
                                                              iii.      Venation
                                                               iv.      Stipules
                                                                 v.      Texture
                                            vi.     Margin

    b.      Forms
                                                                  i.      Rosettes
                                                                ii.      Forbes and perennials
                                                              iii.      Upright, Scandent, Relaxed etc.
                                                               iv.      Spikes
                                                                 v.      Arborescent
                                                               vi.      Vines and Lianas
                                                             vii.      Other
    c.       Roots
                                                                  i.      Corms, Tubers, Bulbs, Crowns, Rhizomes etc.
    d.      Stems
                                                                  i.      Woody
                                                                ii.      Herbaceous
                                                              iii.      Round vs. Square and Trigonal.
    e.      Other important parts
                                                                  i.      Pachycaul (Caudex)
                                                                ii.      Seeds
    1.      Arils
                                                              iii.      Fruit
                                            iv.    Bark
    11.  Flowers
    a.      Plant sexuality terms:
                                                                  i.      Monecious, Dioecious, Unisexual, Bisexual.
    b.      Petals, Sepals and Tepals
    c.       Calyx and Corrola
    d.      Androecium, Gynoecium, Pistels, Carpels,
    e.      Placentation
    f.        Nectary Disk
    g.      Apocarpus vs. Syncarpus
    h.      Epigenous, Hypogenous, Perigynous (Hypanthium) Superior, Inferior.
    i.        Symmetry
                                                                  i.      Actinomorphic
                                                                ii.      Zygomorphic
    j.        Inflorescence Shapes
    12.  Identification to family and order, why it’s important:
    a.      It gives you a ‘sense’ of the plant
    b.      Makes for more accurate searches
    c.       Plants in ‘Floras’ are arranged by families.
    d.      If you know the family you have a good chance of identifying something in a closely related family via the order that family is in.
    e.   If you aren't familiar with the family, being familiar with a family that is in the same order as the plant you are looking at gives you a good chance of figuring out what the plant's family is. 
    13.  Id Methods
    a.      Keys
    b.      Knowledge
    c.       Google Image Search

    14.  Hour 3
    a.      13 Most Common Arboretum Plant Families and the numbers of plants in each family here (We will identify and become familiar with plants from these families and more).
    ORCHIDACEAE
    3630
    MYRTACEAE
    1560
    LILIACEAE
    1104
    FABACEAE
    903
    ARECACEAE
    899
    LAMIACEAE
    844
    ALOACEAE (Aspholedaceae)
    625
    ROSACEAE
    603
    ASTERACEAE
    520
    AGAVACEAE (Asparagaceae)
    484
    FAGACEAE
    435
    POACEAE
    404
    BIGNONIACEAE
    340
                                                                  i.